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For Immediate Release
May, 12 2010, 04:37pm EDT
Contact:
Becky Jones, GAP
202.457.0034, ext. 127
supportwhistleblowers@gmail.com
Shanna Devine, GAP Legislative Associate
202.457.0034, ext. 124
shannad@whistleblower.org
Dylan Blaylock, GAP Communications Director
202.457.0034, ext. 137
dylanb@whistleblower.org
National Whistleblower Assembly May 24 & 25
Participants Include Serpico, Ellsberg, Van Hollen, Rowley
WASHINGTON
The Government Accountability
Project (GAP) and a coalition of public interest organizations are proud
to
announce that this year's National Whistleblower Assembly will take
place
from May 24 & 25 on Capitol Hill. This year's conference is chalked
full of noted politicians, key government officials, and an all-star
line up of
famous whistleblowers. Cosponsors of the event include the American
Federation
of Government Employees, National Treasury Employees Union, Project On
Government Oversight, Semmelweis Society International, and the Make It
Safe
Coalition.
The aim of this year's
conference is to raise
awareness and build public support for the passing of the Whistleblower
Protection Enhancement Act, currently stalled in the Senate.
All events will take
place at either the Capitol Visitors
Center, Rayburn House Office congressional
rooms, or the Stewart R. Mott House (two minutes walking from the
Visitors Center). Prominent guests that will speak
at conference events include:
- Frank
Serpico
- NYPD whistleblower whose story is memorialized by the film that
shares his name. Serpico will give opening remarks at the
conference's plenary session the morning of Monday, May 24. - Rep.
Chris Van Hollen - Democratic Representative from Maryland and a
longtime champion of
whistleblower rights. Van Hollen will also speak at the plenary
session. - Norm
Eisen*
- Special Counsel to President Obama for Ethics and Government
Reform. *Eisen is invited to speak at the plenary session. - Coleen
Rowley
- FBI whistleblower who detailed intelligence breakdowns in
relation
to the 9/11 attacks, and Time Magazine's "Person of the
Year" in 2002. Rowley will participate in a luncheon panel on
National Security issues at 2 p.m. on Monday, May 24. - Daniel
Ellsberg
- The patriarch of modern whistleblowing, his disclosures (the
Pentagon Papers) as a Rand Corporation/DoD analyst exposed deceit
and
concealment involving the government's handling of the Vietnam War.
Ellsberg will provide the closing remarks of the conference at 4
p.m. on Tuesday,
May 25. - Key officials from
federal agencies related to whistleblowing - including the Merit
Systems Protection Board, Administrative Review Board, and
Occupational
Safety and Health Administration - will be available at a
"Meet the New Appointments" session from at 5 p.m. on Monday,
May 24.
For a full list of
participants and a working schedule
of events, please click
here.
Members of the media are
encouraged to reserve their
spot at the conference by contacting GAP Communications Director Dylan
Blaylock at dylanb@whistleblower.org.
For more information regarding any aspect of the conference, please
contact
GAP's Becky Jones at 202.457.0034, ext. 127, or supportwhistleblowers@gmail.com.
The National
Whistleblower Assembly is open to the
public and free of charge. The Capitol
Visitors Center
is located at E Capitol St NE & 1st St
NE. The Stewart R. Mott House is located
at 122 Maryland Ave NE.
The Government Accountability Project (GAP) is a 30-year-old nonprofit public interest group that promotes government and corporate accountability by advancing occupational free speech, defending whistleblowers, and empowering citizen activists. We pursue this mission through our Nuclear Safety, International Reform, Corporate Accountability, Food & Drug Safety, and Federal Employee/National Security programs. GAP is the nation's leading whistleblower protection organization.
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